Control
by delphinus2
Summary: Cas brings a girl from a different world into the Winchester's. But she's not normal. (Kind of an AU.) This story is not specifically set anywhere in the series timeline as I have only seen a few scattered episodes. If you read, then please give me a review. I want to hear other people's opinions of my writing. Please enjoy. (Sam/OC)
1. A Second Chance

"What were you **THINKING** Castiel?!"

Those were the first words I heard in that world.

"I saved her life."

"No, you condemned her to a living hell! She's what? 15? 16, maybe. A girl her age shouldn't be anywhere **near** hunters like us. She won't last ten minutes."

"Then train her. I'm leaving her with you because with you she has the best chance of survival. This is her life now, Sam." He turned to me and for a second I saw him having a pair of gorgeous raven black wings on his back. "If you want to stay here, then understand that your life will never be easy. You will face down death and pain on a day to day basis. If not, Then you can go back to your world and die in peace."

"I'll stay. In my experience, second chances are not to be refused."

His emotionless face softened slightly. "You will do well." Then, with a sound like rushing feathers, the person named Castiel was gone.

The other person in the room, Sam, turned to me. "Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Go for it," I said with a shrug. "No guarantee I'll answer, but you're welcome to ask."

"Do you have a name?"

I thought about it. No way I was going to give him my old name, Nelsa, so that meant I had to come up with a new one. "Call me Attica."

"I'm Sam. Sam Winchester. How old are you, Attica?"

"Seventeen. A bit older than you thought. Not much, though."

"Do you know what we hunt?"

"I'm going to guess that its something a bit scarier than bears or deer."

"Monsters. Anything supernatural. We've even broken a curse or two."

"Sounds interesting." I kept my face carefully blank. Just as I always had.

Sam suddenly realized something. "Dean is not going to be happy about this. He'd keep me out of this life if he could and I was trained for it. I don't even want to be around when we tell him that he has to train you."

I shrugged again. If I kept this up I'd be shrugging at everything. "I've dealt with worse."

He took a closer look at me and sighed. "I don't doubt it."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0

Not happy was perhaps the mildest way of putting it. Dean, as Sam called him, was actually somewhere between furious and despairing.

"Now Dean, you need to calm down. Think about it. If we kick her out, then where's she going to go?"

"No, Sam, I do not need to 'think about it.' She has to find somewhere else to be. This isn't her fight and I won't have her involved!" His voice rose in volume until he was shouting.

In a fit of nervous energy I had begun inspecting my nails. Sam told me later that I looked perfectly calm and confident. I wasn't. "Actually," I began, "This is my fight."

"Says who?" He snorted.

"Says the angel who brought me here. He's called Castiel. Name ringing any bells?"

I swear Dean nearly choked on his drink. "Cas," he muttered menacingly, "When I get my hands on you..."

Sam caught the look on Dean's face and ushered me out of the room. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"About Cas."

"Oh, I saw his wings."

He gave me a strange look, then had to stifle a laugh at the only slightly muffled sounds of cursing coming from what I figured was probably the living room. At the very least that was what it was being used as. (Though it was probably meant to be the dining room, given the fact that it was connected to what appeared to be a kitchen.)

"What?" I asked. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I was just imagining what a hard time Cas is going to have trying to explain why you're here. Dean..." Sam shook his head. "Well, you've seen how he feels about this. For now, its best to stay away. Come on, I'll take you to meet Bobby."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A middle aged man in a plaid shirt, jeans, and a trucker cap looked up when we entered the library. "Sam," he asked suspiciously, "Who's this?"

"Bobby, this is Attica. Attica, Bobby. She's...uh...not from around here. Castiel dropped her off about an hour ago. He says we should train her. Dean is...debating with him about it."

Bobby snorted. "I bet." He started to shift his gaze to me and I stared at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Girl," came the gruff command, "Look at me when I'm talking to you." I shook my head firmly. He sighed in exasperation. His tone softened, though, so I got the feeling that he wasn't really upset. "I don't bite."

I hesitated and Sam leaned over and whispered: "Its all right. Bobby's nice."

Mustering my courage I looked Bobby in the eye. "Hi," I whispered.

"That's more like it. You didn't say she was shy, Sam."

Sam looked kind of confused. "I didn't think she was. She sure gave my brother what for."

I cleared my throat. "Sorry about that. I'm not shy. I'm just really bad with people. My name is Attica. Its nice to meet you." I held my breath, silently begging them not to laugh at me as so many others had.

"Its good to meet you too. Where are you from, Attica?"

"A whole other world."

"Castiel brought you here from a different world?!" Bobby spluttered. "How is that even possible?"

"Don't look at me. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that monsters are real."

"So why are you here?"

"I was dying. Cas offered me a second chance at life. I think he thought I'd make a good hunter."

"But won't your family miss you? Won't they wonder where you went?"

I let loose a harsh laugh. "What family? I'm a foster kid, Bobby. Things like family and home never existed."

Dean stormed in with Cas following close behind. The angel looked a bit like a puppy that someone had kicked. I suspected that someone had been Dean Winchester. "Dean..."

"No, Cas! I won't let her be involved. Find somewhere else to put her."

Sam just gave this sigh and stepped aside to let his brother past, but Bobby, for some reason, looked downright vengeful. It felt like someone had dropped a time bomb into the middle of them. You could practically **see** the timer. I decided to intervene before someone blew their top.

"Would it help if I said I'm already involved?"

Every eye in the room focused on me. I gulped.

"How," Dean asked tersely.

"I..." I shook my head to clear it. " Okay one, an angel brought me here. Two, I was always a bit of a freak in my world. Whenever I lose control... Well, things happen."

"What kind of things?" Sam asked the question gently. That was something, at least.

"Once, I erased someone's memory."


	2. An Explanation

_**[Yes, I am aware that this chapter has a couple of "chick flick moments." It was needed to move the story**_** along.]**

"You what?" To this day I don't know how Dean managed to stay calm enough to ask that question.

"My foster dad was a jerk and one day he... said something, I don't remember what, and I just lost it. My mind went all cloudy and when it cleared he was staring at me like he'd never seen me before."

Sam was the only person in the room who wasn't phased. Besides Castiel. (Castiel had absolutely lost it the first time he heard that story, though. So he doesn't really count.) He helped calm the others down, then shot me a look that said that I had started to explain, so I might as well continue.

But I can't. I can't, **won't**, talk to someone I don't know about this. So I shut down. I just sat down in a corner and refusde to respond. It was the only way I knew to get them to go away. And it worked, after a fashion. In half an hour they were gone, closing the door softly behind them.

I don't know how long I sat there. I suppose it doesn't really matter. At some time, though, someone had come in and sat down next to me. I stayed shut off, my mind drifting worlds away. But he wouldn't leave. Finally, I looked up.

"Sam?"

He looked over at me. "Yeah?"

"Why?" That simple question meant so much. But mostly I was asking this: "Why stay here with me?"

He looked away for a second. "Because I know what its like to be alone." Sam stretched out a hand to me as he got up. I tentatively took it. "Come on. Dean's waiting to apologize."

"What for? I shut down. He has nothing to be sorry for."

"I think he thinks that he hurt you. When you stopped responding everybody just kind of panicked. We didn't know what was wrong with you."

"I'm fine." I paused. "But Sam,"

"Yeah?"

"If I'm gonna have any contact with you all I have one rule."

"Tell me."

"I talk when I'm ready."

"I understand."

* * *

Dean paced the floor of the living room. "What if I hurt her, Cas?"

Castiel shook his head. "I do not think you did. I've seen her do this before. This is how she reacts whenever she needs to be left alone."

Bobby sighed. "You know Dean," he said, "You do something similar when you don't want to talk about something with your little brother."

There was silence for a while.

Then Cas spoke up. "There is still the matter of training her."

"Fine, Cas! I give up! I'll train her! Just know that if she gets killed, its not my fault."

"I know, Dean. But I do not think she will. She is stronger than she seems." He held out a backpack. "I must go. Give her this." The angel vanished in a rush of air.

Dean turned to Bobby once he was gone. "What the heck am I gonna do? I don't know the first thing about training a hunter."

"But you know a lot about **being** one," Bobby pointed out. "And you helped train Sam. He turned out just fine."

"I know,but..."

"She's different," Bobby finished. Dean nodded. "You've got me and Sam to help. It'll be fine."

"Speaking of which, where is Sammy? He should have been back hours ago."

* * *

We paused outside of the living room.

"Speaking of which, where is Sammy? He should have been back hours ago."

Sam glanced at me and we walked into the room. "We're here."

Dean jumped. "Where have you BEEN?!"

"I sat there and waited for her to wake up. You were driving me crazy with all that pacing."

"Is she alright?" Dean tried to disguise the worry in his voice. Did I mention he's a bad actor?

I stepped out into the open, said "I'm fine," and proceeded to ignore him. Instead, I directed my next statement at Bobby. "I apologize if I frightened you. It was a knee jerk reaction. In my world, people are used to it."

"Well if you don't mind, maybe you could tell us more about this 'knee jerk reaction' so we know what to expect next time," Bobby growled.

"Yeah," Dean chimed in, "Like what it is?"

I shrugged. If they insisted... (They **did** have a right to know if they were going to be around me.) "Everyone has their way of coping, right? Like, some people scream, and curse, and throw things. And other people go all quiet and stuff. I do something a bit different. I literally isolate my mind from my body. I shut off. It usually lasts until I calm down and normally I retain some form of awareness. I could give a long explanation, but simply put, I space out but I can sense what's going on around me. Once, though, I completely severed my mind's connection to my body. I woke up three weeks later hooked up to life support in the hospital."

Bobby whistled.

"Tip for avoiding this kind of episode: My past is an off limits topic. Don't ask."


	3. Making Progress

"No, that's not right," Dean said as he corrected my hold on the shotgun.

I sighed. "We've been at this for four hours now. I'm probably not ever going to get it. Can't we do something easier? Like hand to hand combat?"

Dean looked confused. "How is that easier?"

"It just is."

"Whatever. I think its about time to stop for the day anyway."

"Thank God," I muttered.

He laughed. "Lets put these guns up then you can go see what Sammy has for you to do today." We walked back to the room where they stored their weapons (I call it the armory) in silence and I was about to leave when Dean asked: "Do you miss your world?"

I don't know why but I just lost it right there. Maybe it was the flood of bad memories, or maybe it was the few good ones. I didn't mean to yell. I only barely got myself under control before I did any real harm. "No!" I snapped. "And I'd thank you to never bring that up again!" Then I did what I always did and shut down. Curled up in a corner and waited for him to go away.

* * *

Sam was tempted to walk right back out of the room the second he stepped in. Roughly three weeks had passed and his brother still had no idea how to handle Attica. Sighing, he walked over and shooed Dean away. Answering his annoyed look with a curt "We'll talk later."

Dean muttered something about Sam being way too protective of Attica and left the room.

Sam sat down in front of Attica and waited. His eyes took in her long brown hair and creamy white skin that was starting to tan from weeks of training out in the sun. _"Even venerable like this, she's beautiful. I just wish she trusted me more. She has to tell someone what's going on with her and I want that person to be me." _He shook his head. _"I should be happy no matter who she chooses to trust. But she has to talk to someone soon."_

It only took ten minutes before she lifted her head and said: "I swear I am going to kill him."

Sam laughed, his thoughts pushed to the back of his mind for now. "Whoa there. Calm down and tell me what he did this time."

"Oh he's just being a little snit." She shrugged. "Nothing new."

"You know you can't keep doing this right? Just shut off once, sometimes twice, a day? Eventually you're going to have to face this stuff instead of just shutting down."

"Tell you what, Sam. You come up with a new way for me to cope and I will stop shutting down. Deal?"

He nodded. "Deal." He helped her to her feet. "Come on, I need your help researching something for a new case. Can you meet me in the library in about twenty minutes?"

Attica's face lit up at the prospect of being allowed to help with something real. Even if that just meant supplying the boys with information. "Of course!"

"Good. Now I have to go have a nice long chat with that brother of mine..."

* * *

"What did you **do**, Dean?" Sam yelled at his brother with a vengeance.

"All I did was ask if she missed her world and she just lost it! She actually screamed at me before she shut off this time!" Dean growled like a caged animal. "I don't know what to do with her, Sammy! It seems like I can't even turn around without her over reacting!"

"Then don't turn around! And its Sam! 'Sammy' is a naive eleven year old!"

Dean froze. "You like her, don't you?"

"Dean, that is not what this conversation is about."

"You do, don't you? You haven't been this protective since Jessica."

Sam deflated like a popped beach ball. "Don't say a word about this to her," He warned.

"Dude, I won't. Its just... Really? You've only known her for a few weeks."

"That's rich coming from you," Sam snapped.

Dean held his hands up in surrender. "Okay. Whatever floats your boat. Bitch."

"Jerk. Seriously, though, you've got to be more careful with her. Before you manage to **really** hurt her."

"I know. Look, I'm trying, okay?"

"Good."

* * *

Bobby was already in the library when I walked in. "What do you want?" he asked grumpily.

"Nothing," I replied, doing my best to sound sweet. "Sam told me to meet him in here. Something about helping with research."

He nodded. "Figured they'd be gettin you involved soon. Goodness knows you've learned all that can be taught here."

"Oh?"

"Hunting's a hands on job, kid. You gotta learn by doin."

I thought about it. "Makes sense."

Bobby chuckled. "'Course it does."

"So, Sam, what are we researching?"

He walked in the door a second after I opened my mouth. "How do you do that?"

I shrugged again. (Seriously, what was with all the shrugging?) "I Hear you coming."

_**[And on that lovely note, we end this chapter. I will try to get the next one up soon. SYL]**_


	4. Author's Note

I am SO sorry, guys. My internet keeps kicking me off. I can barely get on long enough to post this. Thought I'd let you know that I haven't abandoned the story. It just might be a while.


	5. Bad Memories

**AN: Don't expect accurate drive times or anything like that. I hate traveling. I get so car sick. I don't really even want to think about being in a car for more than about 20 minutes. Also, a line usually denotes either a perspective change or a time jump. Sorry sorry sorry for the long wait!**

"Remember," begins Dean, "If you get killed its your fault."

"You think I don't know that?" I snapped. "I've known exactly what I was getting into since before I agreed to come to this world. Now shut up and let's get going."

Sam shot an amused glance in our direction. "There's this little thing called getting along. Ever heard of it?"

Dean glared at him. "Shut up Sammy," he said. Getting into the driver's seat of the Impala.

Sam snorted. "Make me."

He climbed into the shotgun seat, so I went in the back. Then we were off. On the road to my first case. I wish I hadn't gotten in that car.

* * *

The only thing that happened on the way there was an argument I got into with Dean over his choice of music. Sam slept right through it. He snores. Its kind of cute. Anyways, it was a really long, boring drive but we made it there eventually.

"We're here." Dean sounded annoyingly perky for someone who had just spent ten hours in a car. Driving, nonetheless.

"Great," I said, "Where is here?"

"Hutchinson, Kansas."

"And why are we here again?" Seriously, why couldn't he tell me this stuff before we got there?

"People have been having nightmares." He caught my look. "No, these aren't normal nightmares. They've been killing people. And we need to stop them. Though I still don't think you should be involved."

I groaned.

He looked back at me. "What?"

"Another Mare," I muttered, perhaps a bit louder than I'd meant to. I raised my voice slightly to be heard clearly over the music Dean was blasting. "I know what it is and how to kill it. You two figure out who the next victim will be. I can prepare the weapon."

"What is it?" asked Sam.

"A Mare, or Mara if you prefer. A dream spirit. Sort of a demon, but not really. Not all the lore agrees on that point."

"Who are you, and what did you do with Attica?" Dean was suspicious. Looking back on it, he probably thought I was possessed. I wasn't, but that's sort of beside the point at the moment.

"No one's done anything with me. I've just dealt with one of these before."

"Cas said your world was normal," Sam pointed out.

"Normal is a subjective term." With that thoughtful statement I got out of the car and ended that conversation.

* * *

Later in the motel room:

"You're not telling them everything." Cas's sudden appearance made Attica jump but she recovered quickly.

"No, Cas," she said calmly, "I'm not."

"You're scared."

"Yes." Her voice remained calm; her tone steady and even.

"Will you ever trust them?"

"When they earn it."

Cas sighed slightly. "Sam cares about you. Let him help." When she didn't respond he sighed again; louder this time. "Think about it." Then he was gone and Attica let her shoulders slump as she leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of her own.

* * *

Sam woke that night to the sound of crying. "Att'?" he mumbled groggily.

"Go back to sleep, Sam," came the tense reply.

He was more awake now. "No. What's wrong, Attica?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

"I said no, now tell me what's wrong so I can help."

A bitter laugh drifted over to Sam from Attica's spot on the couch. "Unless you can change the past its not worth trying. You know you have it bad when your nightmares are memories. Don't worry, there are no Mares here."

"What memory is bothering you?"

She took a shuddering breath. "The night my parents died."

He went over to sit on the couch beside her. "Tell me about it."

Attica nodded and took another unsteady breath. "I can't have been older than six. I woke up in the middle of the night and heard my mother scream. By the time I got to my parents' room after she was dead. My dad was collapsed on the floor. And sitting crouched on his chest was the Mara. I screamed and the thing was gone. The neighbors found me the next day trying to wake my mom up." She paused, as if to make sure Sam was still listening.

"Go on."

"I got dumped in the foster care system after that. Got bounced around for a while and the rest is history. Cas found me eventually. He taught me everything he could about lore. He kind of became my guardian angel. Things weren't so bad after that. I-" She broke down crying.

Sam grabbed her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder. "Shhh. Its okay. I lost my mother too, you know." He began talking in a soothing tone, not necessarily about anything. Just talking to calm her down. She fell asleep in his arms, crying on his shoulder.


	6. Revelations

The new day dawned to find me alone in the motel room. I wasn't worried. The boys had left a note saying that they were out interviewing people with a connection to the case.  
Besides, this gave me the time to work on something in secret.  
I found a plain steel knife that one of the brothers had left lying around. I dipped it in holy water and began chanting: "Rationem facere, perdet mutatio." A simple chant that translated roughly to create, destroy, change. At least, that was what it was meant to mean. There were a few more steps to the ritual, but when I was done this knife would let me kill any of the more common monsters.  
Afterward, I sat back and waited for them to return.

"Find anything?" I asked the second Sam walked into the room.  
He gave me a dejected look. "Nope."  
"Don't feel too bad about it," I told him. "I didn't have the materials to make a Mare killing knife. And yes, it does have to be a knife. I did bless one of the steel ones you left lying around, though." It was true. I had performed a simple blessing after I was done with the ritual. Just to make things less suspicious.  
"Hey!" said Dean, "That's my knife!"  
Sam snorted. "Get over it, dude. That was probably your least favorite knife ever. I think you leave it lying around in the hope that someone will steal it."  
Dean glared. "Bitch."  
"Jerk."  
"Morons," I muttered.  
"I do not comprehend why name calling is necessary." Castiel.  
Dean fell out of the chair he'd sat down in. Sam grinned. I sighed. "Hello Cas."  
He tilted his head at me. "I don't understand the tone in your voice, but hello, Attica."  
Sam helped his brother up from the floor. "So, Cas," he began, "Not that we don't love it when you pop by for a visit, because we do, but why exactly are you here?"  
"I am aware that this hunt is... Stressful for Attica and I wished to make sure she is alright. And also to tell you that the next person the Mara will target is called Austin Jameson."  
"Why bother telling us?" Dean wanted to know, "We would have figured it out eventually."  
"Not soon enough. It strikes tonight. He lives alone in 4213, Oak Street."  
Cas flew away with a rush of air, leaving behind a two confused brothers and one depressed teenager. Me.  
Unable to interrogate Cas, Dean turned on me. "Alright, spill. What's so stressful about this hunt that Cas would need to come check up on you? Is this something to do with the fact that you know how to kill a Mare?"  
"I'm not answering that question. And Samuel, don't you dare tell him. He has no right to demand answers, and I have no desire for the pity those answers would bring. Should he get them."  
My very being radiated anger. And a little bit of fear. I had to get out of there before I caused anyone serious harm. Turning, I stormed out of the room. Once outside, I ran. Where to, I wasn't sure. I just knew that I had to get away. That maybe if I ran fast enough I would lose the memories for a while.  
Now I know what you're thinking. Why didn't I just erase my own memory? Start anew. Trust me, there is nothing I would have loved more. But my powers didn't work that way. I couldn't do anything to myself. So I ran. I would have shut off, but that would have just given me more time alone in my mind. Not something I wanted right then.  
"Attica! Attica, wait up!" That was Sam's voice. I slowed down. "I'm sorry about my brother. Please, just come back and we'll work this out."  
I stopped running and looked up to see where I was. Oak Street. And the sun was setting. "Sam," I said uneasily, "We don't have time to go back. Look how low the sun is. We're already on Oak Street, so lets find 4213. I want to have this thing over and done with by dawn."

It didn't take long to find the right address, though poor Mr. Jameson was already dead when we did. We were, however, in time to make the acquaintance of a very upset Mara. I almost wish we'd missed the thing. That was one painful encounter. In fact, Sam and I would have been killed had Dean not shown up to help. And we all would have died if I hadn't lost control.  
Crash! The room's only table slammed against the wall. Sam only just ducked on time. The small, wooden chair that had been sitting at said table missed Dean's head by inches. "Fuck!" he yelled.  
"Language!" I snapped. I was going to break them of that habit if it was the last thing I did. From the looks of this situation I was beginning to think that it might very well be the last thing I did. So much for an easy hunt.  
Sam snorted in laughter and dodged a flying vase.  
In the center of all this mess was the Mare. It flickered in and out of view. I was actually kind of glad for this. That thing was ugly. It might have been human once, but time had made it's skin leathery and it's face looked like someone had squashed it with a rolling pin. It's limbs stuck out at angles human limbs weren't supposed to bend in as it crouched on the chest of the dead man on the bed. Plus it wasn't wearing clothes. All in all, not a pretty picture. Not that the one that had killed my parents had been much better.  
The creature must have grown tired of throwing things, because it shrieked and sprang at me. I dropped to the floor and rolled away, stabbing upwards with the knife I had enchanted earlier. I missed and it knocked the weapon from my hand. I cried out as the thing's claws shredded my arm. I yelled when it clawed me again; my head swimming with pain.  
It wasn't until I heard Sam's cry that I snapped.  
Silvery-violet light wrapped around my wounded arm as I stood. My head cleared. The pain vanished. And in it's place I felt a white hot rage. "No one is allowed to touch those that I call friend." My voice was steady and even. I heard it as if from a distance. All my concentration was focused on reining in some of the more destructive parts of my power before I brought the house down on top of the ones I was trying to protect.  
Sparks of that power danced around me and arched off of my fingertips. Bringing my hand up so that it was level with my chest I swept it to the side. Lines of power sliced through the Mare, killing it. I watched as it dissolved into yellowish powder. My anger faded.  
"Come on," I said, turning to walk out of the house, "The creature is dead. Its time to go."

Dean waited until we had gotten back to the motel room to explode. "What the the HELL was that?!" he asked angrily.  
"Language," I warned him wearily. "That was what happens when I lose my temper."  
"Yes, but what happened?" Dean asked again.  
"I lost my temper."  
A chuckle came from behind me. I whirled. A short man in ridiculously tight and gaudy clothes was standing there. "No one doubts that, sweet cheeks."  
"Castiel," I muttered, "I know you have something to do with this. Show yourself."  
"Actually," the strange man stated with a smile, "Baby bro has absolutely nothing to do with me being here. I wanted to meet the human who'll end up stuck with me forever. The name's Gabriel." He stuck out a hand. I gave him a strange look but shook it anyway. Just to be polite.  
Castiel chose that moment to appear. "Brother," he looked mildly confused. Then again, Cas always looks confused. "You should not be here."


	7. Talks and Tattoos

"I just wanted to meet the human I'm bonded with. Though, at the moment, that bond is only one of friendship."

"You are not my friend," I said vehemently. "I have never seen you before in my life."

He shrugged. "You may not have seen me before, but you'll see me again." He smirked at her and vanished.

Castiel sighed. "Please excuse my brother. He has yet to learn patience."

"We noticed," muttered Sam.

"Look," I said, "I'm tired, you're tired. Why don't we get some sleep? We can find a stick and poke this mess in the morning."

The brothers chuckled at my choice of words. But, they did agree that it would be easier to deal with this after they'd had some sleep.

* * *

I waited until they were asleep to sneak out. I needed answers and the only way to get them was to ask the one who had given me the questions in the first place. I went over to the local park.  
"Gabriel," I called quietly, "I know you're out there. Come talk to me. I'm not gonna try to hurt you, but you owe me an explanation."

I heard his voice behind me, equally quiet. "I was wondering when you'd call."

"Who are you?" I didn't turn around. "And don't say the trickster, or Loki, or the archangel. I know that already. Those are titles. I want to know what you're doing here. Who you are in relation to me."

"Think of me as a guardian. I'm here to look out for you. And if I save the Winchesters' skins a few times in the process, all the better."

"You said something about being bonded."

"Its a long story."

"I have time."

"Not that much. Suffice it to say that I will always be there. I promise."

I nodded, still not turning around. "You know, Cas used to tell me stories about you to cheer me up."

"He did?"

"Uh huh. I have to say, though..."

"What?"

I finally turned around. "I thought you'd be taller."

He chuckled and shook his head before he dissapeared.

* * *

Sam woke up when she walked back into the room. "What on Earth were you doing at this hour of the morning?"

"Asking questions. I didn't get any answers, though."

"Figures. What questions were you asking?"

"Who is Gabriel? I know you know him. What's he like?"

Sam hesitated. Should he tell her? Sighing, he decided that he would. "Well, he's quite the colorful character. He loves to play pranks and he's always sucking on a lollipop. But he can be hard too. He doesn't hesitate to punish people who deserve it. And God help you if you make him mad, because no one else can."

"So he's basically a teenage girl."

Sam blinked. "I've never thought of it that way before, but yeah. I guess." He yawned.

She laughed. "Go to sleep, Sam."

* * *

Noon the next day saw us sitting in the Impala outside of a tattoo parlor arguing about who was going to go inside with me to get my anti-possession tattoo. I would have gotten one sooner, but the boys and Bobby had been way too busy with a series of deaths that had stretched across the country. (Zeus had been zapping people he didn't like. Long story. They couldn't figure out how to kill him, so they ended up just sending him back to Greece.) So this was the first chance we'd gotten.

I honestly would have preferred to just get a necklace, but the boys thought that a tattoo would be better. Necklaces could be lost, and since I was going to be around demons on a regular basis that wasn't a risk they were willing to take.

There was really only one small problem with getting me this tattoo. I. Hate. Needles.

So now they were debating who was going to go in there with me and hold my hand. They played rock, paper, scissors. Sam lost. For once.

Now they just had to drag me out of the car. I silently wished them good luck. They were going to need it.

"Come on!" yelled Dean, "Get up!"

"No!" I yelled back, "Make me."

I heard a chuckle. "You could have just called me, dear."

I turned slightly to see Gabriel behind me. "What can you do about it?"

He touched my shoulder. "One tattoo. No needles necessary."

"Thank you. You have NO idea how happy that makes me."

Gabriel grinned. "Glad to help. Now show the boys." With that, he vanished.

I let go of the seat with one hand long enough to yank my shirt sleeve down. Dean and Sam stopped trying to yank me out of the car.

"What the-" Dean began.

"Language," I reminded him.

"How did you get that?" Sam asked suspiciously.

Gabriel popped up behind him. I swear, Sam nearly had a heart attack. "I gave it to her. Its basically just your standard anti-possession tattoo. I just added a couple of things."

Sam looked at him suspiciously. "Like what?"

"Warding against angels. Wards against her power breaking free of her control. And I made the tattoo like a mood ring. Just for fun." He grinned impishly. Then he took off.

That was one of the first things I noticed about Gabriel. He didn't stick around for very long.


	8. Bracelet Blues

**AN: Please let me know if I messed something** **up!**

Bobby was glad to see us in one piece. Though he was rather startled by the whole Gabriel issue. To be frank, so was I. You try having an angel tell you that you're bonded to them (without telling you what that means) some time. See how it makes _you_ feel.

"So," I said, "What now?"

Bobby grunted. "I don't have any jobs for you idjits, and non-idjit, so I guess you'll have to hang around for a while."

Dean didn't look too pleased by this turn of events, but I grinned. "Thanks for letting us stay, Bobby."

"Yer welcome. Now get inside. Att, you come with me. I've got an artifact that I want you to take a look at. You boys head to the library. There're some guns that need cleaning, Dean. Sam, there are a couple new books on the table that I thought might interest you."

* * *

Perhaps I should explain why Bobby wanted _me_ to examine an artifact for him. You know what the Colt is, right? That's right. The demon killing gun. Well a little while after I first came to Bobby's I was wandering around when I found a disassembled gun lying on a table. I figured Bobby had taken it apart for cleaning. It looked clean to me. So, being the bored, puzzle loving teenager that I was, I decided to put it back together for him.

I have _no_ idea what I did to that gun. Whatever it was, it worked. Maybe my power reactivated the enchantment, or maybe I just got lucky. Whatever happened, I got two things out of that experience. Respect from Bobby, and a reputation for being good with artifacts. I actually did turn out to be really good with artifacts and cursed objects of all kind. But the thing with the Colt was just blind,dumb luck.

So, anyways, I followed Bobby down into the panic room. I had never been down there before. I'd known about it of course, but knowing and seeing are two different things. It was quite the honor.

"So what is this artifact, Bobby?"

"A bracelet. Its pretty obviously powerful. Problem is, I have no idea what it does. The etching on it appears to be in some sort of demonic script, though."

"Hence the fact that you're keeping it down here instead of in the library."

He nodded and showed me over to a small table placed in a corner of the room. I looked at the slender metal band and bit back a laugh. "Two things, Bobby. One, this is silver, and demons, witches, or anything else dark likely would have used gold. Silver symbolizes purity. Gold symbolizes greed and power. Secondly, that's not demonic script. It appears to be an archaic version of the Norse runic alphabet."

Bobby covered his embarrassment by acting suspicious. "And how do you know that?"

I shrugged. "I spent a lot of time in my old world reading. I may have picked up a thing or two."

He snorted. "All right, miss know-it-all, what does it say?"

"No clue. That dialect is way too old. If you let me take the bracelet outside for a bit, though, I can get Gabriel to translate it. Its one of his anyway. There's a snake engraved on the inside of the bracelet." He hesitated. "I promise I won't let him take it without your permission."

"Fine."

I nodded, then dashed outside to find a quiet place to summon Gabriel.

* * *

I wandered for a bit before finding an empty spot near the heart of the salvage yard.

"Gabriel," I called, "I, Bobby really, found something that might interest you. I think its one of your old relics. From your time as Loki. I can't read the engraving, though. Will you come tell me what it says?"

"How can you be sure its one of mine?"

I turned to face the trickster. "No symbol on the outside and the inside is etched with a snake. Loki's, _your_, main symbol. Well, one of them."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, show me." I held the bracelet out obediently. He took it and squinted at it for a while before gingerly handing it back to me. "Its... Sort of like a power amplifier. Basically, it amplifies the wearer's power until it matches or exceeds mine. It can't be worn by just anyone though. I have to approve of them. And it doesn't work for beings with no innate power of their own. Be careful, though. Once you put it on you can never take it off."

"What makes you think I-"

We were interrupted by the snarl of a dog.

"Aw come on," I sighed, "Is a day off really too much to ask for?"

"Oh yes, Attica." The strange being now addressing me (presumably male, though I had no desire to check) was dressed entirely in red. Even his skin had a reddish tint to it. "That is far too much to ask for. My name is Set. Perhaps you've heard of me? I'm quite the colorful character."

"Funny," I muttered, "You look rather monochromatic to me."

He glared at me. "I heard that. Anyway, I'll take the bracelet now."

"No. Its not mine to give."

"Don't be silly. Loki here just gave it to you. I watched him."

"How did you find us?" Gabriel's voice was shaking. He sounded angry.

"Nevermind that now. This is between me and your little girlfriend. Give. Me. That. Bracelet!"

"I. Said. No!"

"Have it your way." Set reached out to snatch the piece of jewelry.

Out of options, I jammed it onto my left wrist.

He gaped. "You didn't."

Gabriel placed a hand on my shoulder. "She did." He sounded almost... Proud.

Anger contorted Set's face and he sent out a lash of power in blind fury. I countered with my own bolt of power that swept him off of his feet and sent him flying back several yards. He stood up and brushed himself off. "This isn't over." And he was gone.

Gabriel turned me around to face him. Gently, he placed a hand on my other shoulder. "Hey, its okay. He's gone now. You did good."

So he was proud of me. Why?

"I'm scared, Gabriel. I had trouble enough managing my power before. What if I lose control? Someone could get killed."

"I'll teach you. You'll be fine. Listen to me, Attica. You're going to be just fine."

I blinked away tears that were threatening to fall, then nodded. "Thanks, Gabe."

"Come on. You've got to help me explain this to those morons."

* * *

"Tell it again," ordered Sam.

Dean looked at him strangely. "Dude, she just had an extremely traumatic experience. Cut her some slack."

"Since when do you care? Besides, I need to hear every last detail before she forgets anything."

"Oh give it a rest," I told him. "We've told our little story three times now. You've heard every last little detail I remember."

Sam blew out a whistling sigh as he ran a hand through his long, blond hair. It was cute. "So what do we do?"

Bobby walked back in with drinks. Beer for everyone else, and herbal tea for me.

"Thanks, Bobby," we chorused.

"Yer welcome. Now let's do a recap. Att went to get Gabriel to translate the writing on that bracelet. Sme guy named Set pops up and interrupts them. Attica slides the bracelet onto her wrist to keep it away from him. Now its stuck and her powers have been amplified to match those of an arch-angel. Did I miss anything?"

Gabriel glance at me. "That about covers it."

"So what are we going to do?" Sam repeated.

"Find a way to get the bracelet off." Dean looked and sounded incredibly determined.

_"Oh joy,"_ I thought, _"Here we go again."_

"You can't." That was Gabriel. "Its essentially part of her now."

"Just like you can't come back from the dead?" Dean asked snarkily.

"Humans are the only ones who think that," Gabriel snapped. "Look, I'm being serious here. You really can't get that bracelet off of her. I should know. I designed and built it myself. I'd remember if there were a way to get it off."

"We could always-" Dean cut off at the sight of the arch-angel bringing his blade down on my outstretched wrist. It glanced off without leaving a mark. He waited before it stopped humming to speak.

"See what I mean? The only way to get it off would be to cut off her hand. And even my angel blade doesn't do a thing."

"Dean." I sighed. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't want it off?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "What do you mean, you don't want it off?"

I just shrugged. "So long as I can learn to control the extra power, I see no reason to get rid of it."

**AN: Kane Chronicles anyone? Oh, and bonus points to anyone that spots the significance of the bracelet being on her left wrist instead of her right. I might just reward the person who guesses it with a one shot. Until next time.**


	9. Restart

AN: Its pitiful and short, but its something, right?

It took a week of Dean treating me like I had some disability or disease to snap me. Then I lost it.

Dean was suggesting another way to get the bracelet off when: "Shut up!"

He fell silent in shock. Sam looked up from his research worriedly, but I didn't care. He was just as bad as Dean, treating me like I was fragile. Like the bracelet was killing me. Looking back, I can see that he was jealous. Made sense. After all, the bracelet did- No, I'll tell that bit later.

So, anyway: "What part of 'I don't want it off' do you not understand?"

"The don't," he replied drily.

I mentally conceded that that was a rather good answer. Regardless, however, I kept on with my rant. "I made a choice when I put this bracelet on and its not one I mean to reverse!"

Sam jumped in, trying to placate me. "I'm sure you did, but it was the heat of the moment. You didn't know then what you were doing. Anyway... Don't you think that it would be nice to have it off?"

"What part of my 'no' are you not getting?!" I asked incredulously. "The n, or the o? Let me spell it out for you. I. Don't. Want. It. Off! And I'm sick of you treating me like I'm broken! I'm done. I've had enough and I'm going. Good bye, and leave me alone."

They moved to restrain me so I couldn't make a move. They thought the bracelet had me under a spell. That I was a danger to myself. They were wrong. And when they touched me my gathering power threw them across the room. I was dealing with none of this idiocy today. My power, I hesitate to call it magic, finished gathering around me and pulsed. I closed my eyes (now glowing violet) and opened them in Gabriel's house.

* * *

To say the least, he was surprised. I was a bit surprised as well, I suppose. I didn't know where my power would take me. Only that it was out of the Winchesters' reach.

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. "Not that I'm not delighted to see you, but I thought you'd be with those two chuckleheads still."

I snorted derisively. "Chuckleheads is right. I'm not putting up with them for any longer. Not only are they stupid, but they're incredibly stubborn."

"What did they do now?"

"I just got tired of being treated like a mentally ill five-year-old."

"Well, you're welcome to hang around here, sweet-cheeks."

"Not that name again," I muttered. "If you have to give me a different name, call me by my real one." I was as shocked he was at this statement. I had all but forgotten that Attica was a fake name.

"And what name would that be?"

I sighed in defeat. He might as well know. "Nelsa. My name was Nelsa, back in that other world." I no longer thought of it as my world. "Just don't use it around Sam and Dean, okay?"

He looked at me strangely. "Sure. If you're positive that's what you want."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks, Gabe."

Gabriel rewarded me with a grin. "Any time, Nelsa. Any time."

I ended up taking up residence in Gabe's guest room, since he didn't want me sleeping on the couch and I didn't want to sleep with him. We agreed that this was for the best.

In addition to letting me stay, he also started training me. With time I lost control less and less until it almost didn't happen. Then and only then did we decide that I was ready to go back to the Winchesters. And we decided that the best way for me to do that was to get involved in hunting again.


End file.
